Saving Grace
by MaverickLover2
Summary: New parents Louis and Kitty Manning are tragically taken away from Baby Grace Louise, and Bret Maverick wants to raise the little girl as his own. There is surprising conflict with his wife, Ginny Malone, but welcome support from his brother Bart.
1. And Then There Shall Be Three?

Saving Grace

Chapter 1 – And Then There Shall be . . . Three?

Bret reached for her hand and, as usual, it was there. He turned his head and looked at this wife of his, the woman he'd known for so many years as Ginny Malone, and just the closeness of her made him smile. They hadn't been married all that long, but he'd loved her without fail since the first time he saw her, in that train car on the way to Denver.

It had taken them both a long time to be willing to settle down, if you could even call it that. Bret Maverick was a gambler, a rover, a man that never wanted to stay in one place, and Ginny Malone was his perfect match. A longtime Captain and newly appointed Regional Director for Pinkerton, she'd traveled the country almost as much as he had. Of course, he'd been thrown out of more towns than his wife, and it was something they laughed about.

He had a younger brother, Bart, who'd been his traveling companion for many years, but Bart had long since put down permanent roots in their home town of Little Bend, Texas with his own wife, Doralice Donovan. Together they owned the biggest and brightest saloon in town, Maude's, and there was nobody in Texas that could beat Bart at poker. Doralice tended bar, and Bart still walked the floor every night as her floor manager and ran the place, when he wasn't involved in one high-stakes game or another. They hadn't come up short in the family department, either; there were four miniature Mavericks. The twins were the oldest, Isabelle and Maude, then Beauregard, and finally the baby, Breton.

Bret held onto Ginny's hand tightly – by this time in their marriage they'd expected to have a child or two of their own, but so far they'd had no such luck. If one didn't come along soon . . . they both worried about it, but neither one said anything out loud. Until today.

"Ginny . . . "

She knew that tone of voice; she'd heard it enough over the last few days, always on the same subject. Baby Grace. Grace Louise Manning, to be exact, all of six days old and already an orphan.

Her father was Louis Manning, the sheriff in Claytonville, Texas, and a longtime friend of Bret's. Lou had been killed when a posse he was leading got ambushed, and his horse was accidentally forced over a cliff. His wife of four years, Kitty, was due to give birth to their first child any day and was inconsolable. To put a sad ending to an already heartbreaking story, something went terribly wrong, and Kitty lived just long enough to name her baby daughter.

Bret, along with everyone that knew the Mannings, was devastated. Becoming friends with John Law was never easy for the oldest Maverick son, but he and Lou had grown particularly close. So close, in fact, that Louis would joke about the impending arrival. "Won't matter whether it's a boy or a girl – the baby's gonna be born with black hair, black eyes, and a God-awful desire to play poker. Just like his or her Uncle Bret."

Kitty was beside herself with grief, so Bret and Ginny handled all the arrangements. Little did they know that within two days of Grace's birth, they would be doing the same thing all over again – this time for the baby's mother. Which left Grace with neither mother nor father – and no other relatives.

The little girl had been born exactly as her father predicted – with plenty of black hair and the darkest eyes imaginable. There was no question of the baby's parentage; Lou and Kitty were devoted to each other. At the moment Grace was staying with Reverend and Mrs. Donovan in Claytonville, while the entire town frantically searched for a home for the child.

Bret was off and running with another argument about why . . . well, it was always the same one. From the first moment he'd laid eyes on Grace and held her in his arms, she was his child. He knew she'd need a father in her life as she grew up, and he was more than willing to provide her with one. Ginny understood that from the very beginning, and had no problem with it. For the first two days of Grace's life they were a happy little group . . . Mama Kitty, 'Daddy' Bret, and . . . Aunt Ginny. Then the unthinkable happened, and there was only Daddy Bret . . . and Grace needed a family. A whole family.

Ginny Malone knew exactly what her husband was thinking. Grace needed a mother and father. The Mavericks had waited a long time for a child to appear, and so far there was nothing but an empty spot in both their hearts. Correction. There was an empty spot in her heart.

She'd seen it in his eyes, heard it in his voice, felt it in his kiss. He was in love again, head-over-heels in love again, and she could already sense the jealousy creeping up inside her. Over a six day old baby. If she could just feel the way he did about the child . . . she was trying, giving it her best effort, but so far . .

Maybe that was the problem. Her best effort didn't seem to be good enough. And she didn't know what to do about it.

"Ginny, honey, I've been thinkin' . . . we could take Grace. She needs us, and we've surely got the room. Besides . . . we've been waitin' an awful long time."

There it was . . . the logic, the reasonableness of it all. She looked into his eyes, this man she loved with every ounce of strength she had in her . . . she couldn't deny him his greatest desire, for a child of their own. Yet she couldn't grant him the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world.

"Bret, I . . . I know how you feel. I know how close you were to Lou, and how you feel about Grace. It's just that I . . . I don't feel the same way you do."

He let go of her hand, finally, and turned to face her. He looked stunned . . . he never expected her to feel anything other than what he felt. When Grace was born and put in her mother's arms, and then quickly passed to him, there was such a rush of joy inside him. He never believed he could harbor a love like this for a child that wasn't fathered by him. When Kitty died two days later, the feelings swelled up inside him again and he knew for a fact – Grace Louise Manning was destined to be Grace Louise Maverick. And he was sure that Ginny would agree with him.

But there was something not quite right. Every time he tried to talk to Ginny about it, she put him off. "Supper's almost ready, can we talk about this later?" or "I have to finish this report tonight, Bret. Will this wait until tomorrow?" After four straight days of ducking his not-so-subtle hints, it finally dawned on him – Ginny, his beloved Ginny, wasn't thinking the same way he was. And he didn't understand why.

Neither did Ginny. The little girl was everything the Mavericks had ever wanted in a child. Everything with one exception . . . Ginny Maverick hadn't given birth to her.

"But honey, how can you not? Don't you see how much she needs two parents that love her . . . two parents that need her as much as she needs them . . . how much those parents should be us?"

Ginny stood and turned away from him then, this man that she'd loved for so long that the very thought of ever being without him was like a knife in her stomach. She couldn't stand the pain in his eyes, much less the pain in his voice . . . the pain that her words had put there. What was it about this little girl that stopped Ginny from giving all the love she had inside her to the child? It was a fact that Grace could very easily be their natural child; she looked so much like Bret that it was startling. Everyone that saw the man and baby together just automatically assumed her to be his daughter. And she already cared for Grace who was, after all, the progeny of their best friends. But she couldn't take that final step . . . that acceptance of Grace as their daughter, the final and forever commitment of her heart.

"I just . . . just need a few days, Bret. Please, give me a few more days."

He looked at her with those black, black eyes, and a curtain was drawn down inside them. There was no more pain, no fear, no love, no hope, only . . . emptiness. And for a brief moment, she thought she'd lost him. Then he smiled at her and pulled her into his arms, and she was granted a reprieve. "Whatever you need, darlin'. Whatever you need."


	2. Coffee and Eggs

Chapter 2 – Coffee and Eggs

Three days had passed since the conversation regarding Grace's future parents took place. Three long, tedious days of wishing and hoping, wondering just what he could do to help make up his wife's mind for her. Ginny Malone Maverick was stubborn; every bit as stubborn as her husband, and Bret knew if he pushed too hard, or said the wrong thing, he could do serious damage; not only to his hope of raising Grace as their daughter, but to their marriage. And that was the last thing in the world he wanted.

When they'd decided to live in one place, something had made them choose Claytonville. Bret considered Little Bend, but his hometown was his brother's base of operations, and Bret preferred to let Bart remain the big fish in a small pond. Of course, they could have moved to the old Maverick homestead where the boys grew up without 'infringing' on his brother's domain. Bart, Doralice and the children lived in the town proper, in what had originally been Maude Donovan's house, expanded several times over the years as the needs arose. But the original Maverick ranch had long since fallen into disrepair, and it was easier and more expedient to buy a house in Claytonville.

Their choice of towns had precipitated the friendship between Bret and Lou; Manning knew the Mavericks reputation as honest poker players and set out to befriend the newest town resident. They were much alike; tall and dark, slow to anger and quick with a laugh, more than willing to help someone in need – as long as it didn't involve actual work. It didn't take long for each of them to recognize that they could trust and count on the other. When Lou was killed and Kitty passed, Bret came to understand two things – he wanted to go back to the Maverick homestead, no matter how many repairs were needed. And as long as they lived in Claytonville, he could spend as much time with Grace as he wanted to.

Bret took full advantage of the latter. Every morning he showed up as early as socially acceptable at Reverend Donovan's, and Mrs. Donovan handed Grace to her surrogate daddy with a smile and a wave. Each morning she told her husband the same thing. "That baby belongs with that man. Can't Mrs. Maverick see that?" And every morning the Reverend answered her, "God works at his own pace."

It was hard to figure out who was the most content – the baby or the man holding her. He'd sit on the porch at home and rock her, her tiny head resting comfortably on his big chest, content to lay sleeping while his heart beat steadily beneath her. Sometimes Ginny would come out on the porch and sit next to him, but she held Grace only once during the three days, and then for just a few minutes. Only when he absolutely had to did he take the child back to Mrs. Donovan, and the next day it would start all over again.

It was easier to broach the subject of a return to Little Bend. They were lying in each other's arms in bed on the fourth night when Bret murmured, "You asleep?"

"No" was the almost immediate answer.

"I been thinkin' . . . "

' _Oh God, here we go again,'_ she thought.

"What would you say to movin' back to Little Bend?"

That was not at all what she'd expected and was, in fact, a welcome relief from what she anticipated. "Where in Little Bend?"

"The old Maverick Ranch."

"It needs a lot of work."

"I know, but it's nothin' that can't be done." He paused for a moment and then chuckled. "Not by me, of course. But I'm sure we can find someone to make the changes for us."

"Why?" It seemed a reasonable question from her.

"I miss it. I miss bein' there with Momma and Pappy. I miss bein' able to see my nieces and nephews as often as I'd like. Most of all I miss my brother. There's times I need . . . I just need to talk to him. And I can't when I'm here and he's there."

"Why now?"

He pulled her close and kissed her forehead before giving her his answer. "It's time. There's no more Lou here, no more Kitty. I want to be where I'm comfortable when you're workin', and I want you to feel you've got somebody to turn to when I'm off workin'. There's nobody in the world like Bart, and you already know that. You know how good he is at solving problems. In case one comes up, I mean, and I'm not around. Why not now?"

"Okay," she answered with no hesitation.

"Okay? That's all it took for you to say okay?"

"That was more than enough."

Bret began laughing, and soon Ginny was laughing with him. He gathered her into his arms and held her close, planting kisses on her eyes, her ears, her neck, and finally her lips. Those soft, sweet lips that had comforted him when he needed it, reminded him who he was and why he loved her, inflamed his desire for the woman he'd chosen to spend his life with. It was so easy to love her, and it seemed to be that way for her, too. How could they be so alike and yet so different? He put those thoughts aside and emptied his mind of everything but the warmth and softness of her body in his arms, and made love to her until they fell into a deep, satisfied sleep.

XXXXXXXX

Bret was up early the next day, even earlier than the days he went to see Baby Grace. There was something different about today, and Ginny could feel it. "Doing something different today?" she asked as he sat down to coffee and eggs.

"I am," he told her. "I thought I'd ride over to the ranch and look around. You wanna go with me?"

"I'd love to, but I've got the monthly reports to finish. Are you going to ride into Little Bend and see Bart while you're there?"

"Don't you think I better? Since Pappy gave the ranch to him, I can't just move in and take over. I can't see that he'll have any objections, but I have to ask."

"Maybe he'll know someone who can help with repairs. He and Doralice have done a lot of expanding and rebuilding in the saloon and their house. Remember to ask him."

He grasped her wrist and pulled her down into his lap. After all the time they'd spent together just the sight of her could leave him breathless. She was his biggest distraction, and this morning all he could think of was how warm and soft she'd been last night. And how much he still needed and desired her.

It was an hour later before he went outside to saddle his horse, but an hour well spent. He'd smile all the way to Little Bend, and wouldn't regret one moment of the delay.

He rode to the Maverick Ranch first and was surprised and pleased to see it in better condition than he'd expected. It appeared there'd been some work done around the place recently; corral fences repaired, new stalls constructed in the barn, water troughs and feed bins replaced. He was absolutely astounded when he walked inside the little house – new doors and windows, old, broken down furniture had been replaced with new, and everything inside was clean and tidy, unlike the last time he'd been in the place. He began to worry – was Bart contemplating moving the family out of town and back to the ranch?

Bret was standing in the doorway to their bedroom, where they'd spent so many endless nighttime hours playing poker, when a horse cantered up outside. He didn't hear anything until the sound of boots walking across the old wooden floors disturbed his reverie and he looked up, startled.

"You're a long way from home to be standin' there day-dreamin'," Bart laughed and slapped him on the back. The greeting quickly turned into an embrace, both men delighted to see each other.

"Maybe not so far," Bret answered. "What are you doin' out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the younger brother replied. Bret took a good look at his brother and sighed; there were new streaks of silver in Bart's hair, and laugh lines around his eyes that hadn't been there at the last meeting.

"I was on my way to see you. There's somethin' I'd like to talk to you about."

"Uh-oh. Here comes Brother Bret with his hand out, wantin' somethin' that I've got. Alright, what is it now?" He teased. "The saloon? My wife? Surely not one of the kids? You know anything I've got is yours. At a fair price, of course."

"I'll get to that later, little brother. "You've been havin' some repair work done around here, I see."

"Bout time, don't you think?"

Bret got a serious look on his face. "You and Doralice thinkin' about movin' back out here?"

Bart shook his head. "Nope."

"Why the repairs, then?"

"The truth?"

"Absolutely, the truth."

"You promise not to laugh?"

That, of course, set off the very thing Bart wanted to avoid. When Bret stopped laughing, he answered, "I promise."

Bart sat down on what had been his bed when they shared the room. "I was hopin' . . . " A few seconds of empty silence went by, then, ". . . that maybe you and Beauty would think about movin' back home."

Bret sat down next to his brother. "That's just what I wanted to talk to you about."


	3. Home Again, Home Again

Chapter 3 – Home Again, Home Again

"I'm sorry about Louis and Kitty. Must have been really hard."

It was comforting to feel Bart's shoulder next to his; still, it was painful to talk about. "I just . . . I miss him, Bart. It's not the same as losin' a member of the family, but . . . I miss him."

"What about the baby? Grace, wasn't it? I heard she looks just like you." A small laugh accompanied the remark, but there was an unspoken question in there, too.

"It is, and she does. Course, Lou and me kinda looked alike . . . he even predicted she'd have black hair and black eyes. She's part of the problem, Bart. That little girl's got no momma or daddy . . . and we still don't have a baby. I wanna take her and raise her as ours. I've been spendin' time with her every day, and she already thinks I'm her pappy."

"So what's the problem?"

"Ginny."

"Ginny?"

"Yep. For some reason . . . she says she don't feel the same way about Grace that I do. I can't push her no harder than I already have, Bart, but if we don't do somethin' soon, the Reverend and Mrs. Donovan are gonna find another place for her . . . and that'd kill me."

"That doesn't sound like Beauty. You sure you ain't done somethin' . . . "

"Nothin', I swear to God. Then I got to thinkin' about you and blue-eyes over here, and how we don't get to see any of you often enough . . . and I asked her about movin' back."

"What'd she say?" Bret and Ginny moving back to Little Bend was exactly what Bart hoped for. That's what had started work on the ranch.

"She said okay."

"Just like that?"

"Oh, she made me tell her why I wanted to come home . . . but she said yes right away."

"So you decided to come see the old place." Bart wasn't a bit surprised; pleased, but not surprised.

"That, and to come talk to you. I know Pappy gave this place to you . . . I didn't want any part of it. But now . . . would you sell it to me?"

"Absolutely not." Bret waited to see if anything followed that pronouncement. And, as usual, something did. "But I will give it to you."

Bret breathed a sigh of relief. "Only if you let me pay you back for the work you've already had done."

"Nope. But I will tell you who could finish everything out here, and in short order."

"Pauly Wilcox."

"Exactly. He's been doin' little things and dyin' to get his hands on everything else."

"I'd like to have that bedroom of Pappy's completely redone – and the house needs a new roof."

"Ya know, Bret – it'd be real easy to make this room into a nursery for Gracie."

The older brother smiled. "It would, woudn't it? And maybe by the time Ginny sees it, there won't be any questions about where Grace belongs."

They sat on the bed, side by side, for another few minutes before Bart spoke. "I gotta get back to town. Comin' with me?"

Bret stood and reached out to his brother, pulling him to his feet. "Yep. Wouldn't miss a chance to see the rest of the family, especially my namesake, you old rascal."

Bart shook his head. "Not my idea. Blame the beautiful blonde I married."

"Sure. It's all blue-eyes fault. How is she, by the way?"

"Real happy that she's not big and fat anymore."

"I bet. Can we check with Pauly to see if he's willin' to do the work out here?"

"Should be easy to find. He's at the house, workin' on a secret project with Doralice. I swear, the things those two come up with."

"Let's go then. Maybe your wife will make us lunch."

XXXXXXXX

Isabelle and Maude were in school, but little Beauregard came running outside as soon as he heard Bret's voice. "Uncle B! Uncle B! You come see me?"

Bret scooped Little Beau up in his arms and marveled at how much the boy had grown in just three months. The girls were on the thin side, just like their father, but Beau had the typical Maverick male build. He was already taller than most everyone else his age.

"I sure did, Scooter. How you gettin' along with that new baby brother?"

"Can't call me Scooter no more. Have to call him Scooter now." Bret had attached the nickname to Beau when he was younger; he seemed to sit on his bottom and scoot everywhere – until he finally learned to walk.

"Then what will I call you?"

The child's answer was solemn but firm. "Beauregard. Just like my grampa."

Bret shook his head and addressed his remark to his brother. "Sounds just like him, don't he?"

Bart tried to suppress a laugh. "That's not all. He's got Pappy's temperament."

Bret shook his head as they walked into the house. "Please tell me you're not serious."

Beau interrupted and sent the brothers into gales of laughter. "Him not serious. Him Pa."

As soon as the laughter echoed through the house, Bart's wife appeared. Doralice was a beautiful woman, and she looked even better now that Breton was out in the world. She hurried to give Bret a kiss on the cheek.

"Where's the baby?" Bret asked.

"Asleep," came the reply. "What brings you to town?"

"His horse!" laughed little Beau as Bret set him back down.

"I came to see . . . "

Bart couldn't wait and interrupted. "They're movin' back, baby. They're comin' back home!"

"Into the ranch house?" Doralice questioned. "Then you need to see Pauly." She turned and called out, "Pauly! Pauly! Come out here!"

The man in question slowly ambled out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a rag. His face lit up when he saw Bret. "Mr. Bret! How are you? You look fit as a fiddle."

"I'm good, Pauly. I saw the work you've done on the old ranch. Want to do some more?"

"Really, Mr. Bret? I'd love to. How soon . . . ?"

"Right away, Pauly. And there's some special things I'd like you to do for me . . . "

They put their heads together and sat in the big front room while Bart and Doralice whispered back and forth in the kitchen. "When did this happen?"

"Just last night, according to Bret. You know, with Lou and Kitty gone . . ."

"Your brother misses you more than ever. That's not a surprise. But moving back to the ranch?" Bart grabbed his aqua-eyed blonde and whirled her around until she laughed that beautiful laugh of hers. "Stop! Stop! There's somethin' you're not telling me, isn't there?"

He bent down and whispered the rest of it in her ear and she pulled back, startled. "Really? And she's not sure?"

"Sure as I'm standing here, woman."

"How could she . . . oh, how could she not want that poor baby?"

Bart shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Doralice, but I'm sure Beauty's got a big heart, so there must be somethin' we don't know. Bret's doin' the right thing, though, just keepin' quiet and not pushin' on her. Only thing that can out-stubborn a Maverick is a Malone. Best to just let the dust settle and let her make up her own mind. I can't imagine she'll say no."

"I hope you're right. A baby is just what those two need. Is Bret gonna have Pauly make one of those rooms at the ranch into a nursery?"

"Yep, our old bedroom. I hope you don't mind givin' Pauly up for a while."

She shook her head. "He's done with my surprise, anyway. Come, take a look." She pointed at the newest contraption in the kitchen – a water pump, right in the sink.

"Well, look at that. Those kids of ours are gonna be downright spoiled, aren't they? Clean water anytime you want it. The next time Lily Mae stops by you have to show it to her. She'll get a kick out of it."

Bret stood, followed by Pauly, and they shook hands. Bret then pulled his wallet from inside his coat and peeled off four or five hundred dollar bills, giving them to Wilcox. "You sure that's gonna be enough?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Bret. That will sure be enough. And thank you for your trust in me."

"I know you, Pauly. You'll take care of things for me."

The handyman turned to Doralice. "Mrs. Dora, you keep an eye on that pump, anything don't go the way it's supposed to, you come get me and I'll fix it right away."

All three Mavericks were laughing by the time Pauly left, causing enough noise to wake up the youngest of the clan. "Mama! Brother's blubberin' again!"

"You sit right down, Bret Maverick, and get ready to take care of this child," his mother instructed as she went into the nursery.

"I guess I've been told," Bret remarked.

"I guess you have," Bart agreed. 


	4. A Change of Heart

Chapter 4 – A Change of Heart

It was lonely with Bret gone; the house was quiet, too quiet, and Ginny was getting nowhere with her reports. She should have just put everything off until tomorrow and gone with her husband to Little Bend. God knows what kind of trouble he would get into without her.

Of course, there was more on her mind than just the trip. There was the child. The baby that she'd wanted for so long, the baby she was beginning to think she'd never have, the baby that wasn't hers. Why was she having such a hard time accepting that poor, orphaned little girl as her own? Bret had no such problem; he'd already taken Grace into his heart as well as his arms. Hard as she tried, Ginny couldn't do the same.

It was easy to look at the child and believe she was Bret's daughter. Grace looked just the way Ginny expected their baby to look – dark hair, dark eyes, sweet, sweet disposition. Everything about the baby was perfect – except for that one thing. She'd been born to another woman.

Was that really the problem, or was Ginny trying to deny the actual truth – that to take this child into their lives, into her heart, would be the same as admitting that she was never going to give birth to a baby of her own? Was she walking through a door marked _'Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here?'_

That was the thought secreting itself in the back of her mind, the truth she refused to admit to. She thought there would be peace in her head with Bret gone to Little Bend, but she was the recipient of no such luck. Finally, she could stand it no more. She went to the livery and saddled her stallion, then rode to the Reverend Donovan's house. Maybe if she saw Grace Louise, held the child in her arms; maybe something would unlock the door to her heart and she could embrace the little girl as her own. When she got to the Donovan's she sat astride her horse for almost fifteen minutes before riding further north along the back roads.

She stayed gone for hours, and when she finally rode back the way she'd come, she stopped again at the Donovan's. This time she dismounted and knocked on the door. "Mrs. Maverick," Mrs. Donovan said when she answered the door. "Were you here earlier today?"

"I was," Ginny answered, "and then I remembered I had somewhere else to go first."

"Mr. Maverick isn't here."

"I know," Ginny replied. "I've come to see Grace Louise."

XXXXXXXX

All the adult Mavericks in the house sat down to lunch. Beauregard had already eaten and was taking his first nap of the day; Breton was on his third or fourth. "How do you keep up with them?" Bret asked.

"It's easier now that the girls are in school. And we have Maria Elena at night." Maria Elena was the resident housekeeper, babysitter, cook and children's playmate. She spent twelve hours a day at the Mavericks, arriving at five o'clock every evening and departing at five the next morning. It worked out well for everyone involved.

"Bart told me about the Manning baby. I think it would be a blessing if you and Ginny took the child in."

"Doralice, you should see her. She's just a little doll, and sweet as can be. And she looks like . . . well, she looks like me, but that ain't the important part. She needs parents. We want a child. It's a way to keep Lou and Kitty close. If we don't take her, she could end up in an orphanage, and I couldn't stand that."

"Did Ginny give you a reason she hasn't said yes? Does she even have a reason?"

Bret shook his head and stared off into the distance. "If she does, she hasn't given me one – other than to say she doesn't feel the same way I do."

Doralice and Bart exchanged looks. "That's it? That's her reason? She doesn't feel the same way you do?"

"That's her reason. I can't fault her for that, Dora, she's just bein' honest."

"What are you gonna do, Pappy?" It was the first time Bart had used the term of endearment on his brother.

"I . . . I don't know, Bart."

Doralice reached across the table and took her brother-in-law's hands in hers. "Yes, you do."

Bret stared across the table for a long minute before he answered. "You're right. I know exactly what I'll do if Ginny won't say yes."

"What?" The question came from Bart, although he feared he knew what Bret's answer would be.

"Take Grace to raise as a Maverick, and move back to Little Bend."

"Alone?"

"If I have to."

XXXXXXXX

"Mrs. Donovan?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Does she always gurgle and coo like this?" Ginny had been holding Grace, watching and listening to her, for at least the last hour, and had noticed all sorts of sounds emanating from the baby.

"She seems to, yes."

"Is that normal?"

Mrs. Donovan laughed. "What's normal, Virginia?"

"I . . . I don't know. I've never been around one before." Ginny really hadn't wanted to admit that, but she had no other answer to give the Reverend's wife.

"Really? No brothers or sisters?"

"No."

"Well, I'll tell you a secret. There's nothing they do that's normal – and nothing they do that's not normal."

"So . . . they can do anything at any time; make any kind of noise or be as still as a bunny, and it's all considered . . . normal?"

"Just about."

"I don't mean to be rude, Mrs. Donovan, but how do you know that?"

"I raised nine children, Virginia. I think I learned something about them while I was doing it."

"Oh." There were so many things you needed to know, so many things you had to learn. She was overcome, and terrified, and wondered if she'd ever be able to do everything she was supposed to. Mrs. Donovan must have sensed her turmoil, because she laid her hand on Ginny's arm and asked a question.

"Feeling overwhelmed, dear?"

Ginny nodded her head. "I can deal with the rankest outlaw, lead a posse anywhere on earth, live in the wilderness for days on end. I can outdraw almost any man alive; I even learned to cook! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!"

"You have been put at an extreme disadvantage, Virginia. Most of us have nine months to get used to the idea of having one so small dependent on us, to love the little one growing inside. You've had five days to absorb all of it, and you've gone into a state of shock. You need to give yourself time to get used to the idea. You already love her – it's in your eyes, the way you watch her and listen to her. She's hiding in your heart, you just haven't found her yet. She's not an outlaw or a posse, she's a little baby who needs a mother." Verbena Donovan paused and smiled. "Does any of this make sense?"

"I . . . I think so, Mrs. Donovan. We've waited and waited for a child of our own, but when the opportunity presented itself . . . "

"You weren't quite ready."

"I'm . . . still not."

"You don't have nine months to get used to the idea, Virginia. That may not seem fair, but that's the way it is. There's a couple down in Randsburg . . . "

Those few words sent a shiver up Ginny's spine. Up until now, it seemed the Mavericks were the only folks that had any interest in Grace. This was the first she'd heard of someone else . . .

Ginny looked at the baby, their baby, with new eyes. She didn't know what had changed, but something had; everything had. What if this was their only chance to have a little girl of their own? She couldn't let the opportunity slip away. "Tell the Reverend Grace has found her home. Bret will be back tonight, and we'll talk everything out. We'll come get her tomorrow. That is, as long as my husband still wants to be her daddy."

Mrs. Donovan wore a big smile on her face as she took baby Grace from Ginny's arms. "Oh, I'm sure he does, Virginia. I'm sure he does."


	5. Did You Just Say

Chapter 5 – Did You Just Say . . .

It was dark by the time Bret got back to the house in Claytonville, and he was tired. He was caught in an untenable situation; he loved Ginny more than he ever thought possible, but he knew that Grace needed him even more than Ginny did.

By the time he got his horse unsaddled and fed he was ready to fall asleep. He thought about the days when he and Bart were just starting out as roving gamblers; it seemed like they could stay awake forever if they had to. This was a different kind of pressure, however, and he wasn't twenty-five years old anymore.

He walked into the house wearily and found Ginny in her favorite chair, still trying to teach herself to knit. She was a most unconventional woman, having been raised primarily by Arthur Stansbury, the man that ultimately became her boss. There was no female in her life to give her the basic skills she needed to survive, and Bret, while sympathetic to her plight, found himself laughing at her attempts to be a 'normal' woman. He took one look at her face, the deep concentration, the mouth twisted into a determined knot, and knew this was neither the time nor the place to find hilarity in her efforts.

He stood inside the door for almost a full minute before she looked up from her efforts and smiled. "It's just no use, I guess. I'm never going to get the hang of this knitting business. Maybe Doralice . . . but I'm getting ahead of myself. How was your trip? Did you get to see Bart? Is he willing to sell you the ranch?"

"Slow down, darlin'," he chided her. "One thing at a time. The trip was good, I got to see my brother, and no, he won't sell me the ranch." He watched her face fall rapidly and decided he better explain his last answer. "But he will give it to us." The smile came back.

"I stopped at the house first and was surprised to see that quite a few repairs had already been made to the place. Before I could get too curious, Brother Bart happened to show up. We talked about you and me movin' back to Little Bend, and he was so excited. He was missin' me as much as I was missin' him, and he'd already had Pauly Wilcox workin' on the place, just in case. I offered to buy the ranch, but Bart insisted he wouldn't sell and gave it to me instead. Then I followed him back to town and had lunch with him and Doralice.

"You wouldn't believe it, honey; Pauly was at their house puttin' a water pump right in the kitchen sink. Fresh water whenever they want it! Anyway, I told Pauly what I wanted to be done to the ranch and gave him enough money to take care of it."

"Slow down, Bret, you don't have to tell me everything at once. Are you hungry? I kept some dinner warm in the stove for you, and there's a fresh pot of coffee on. Come on, I'll sit at the table with you. Trying to teach myself to knit is useless, anyway."

She seemed in a good mood, happy and peaceful. Bret told her about Beauregard and Breton while he ate, and she was pleased to hear all about the boys. When Bret was finished with his meal, he reached over and took her hand in his. "I don't know how she did it so fast, but Doralice is back down to that little bitty shape she keeps. She looks good, and told me to tell you she can't wait until we get there."

"How long do you suppose it will take Pauly to get the place in shape?"

"Couple months, I would think." He pushed his empty plate away but didn't let go of her hand. "Ginny, we need to talk. I was gonna wait until mornin' to bring this up, but there's some things I'd like to say now."

"About Grace?"

"Yes, about Grace. I've given this a lot of thought, honey. I know you don't feel the way I do about her, and that's alright. It was love at first sight, the moment I saw her. I couldn't love her anymore if I tried. She needs a home, Ginny, and a family, and I intend to give it to her. I'm hopin' it'll be you and me together. I can't let her go to people who don't know her and won't love her like I will. I just can't do it. If I don't raise that little girl, it'll be like me and Lou was never friends. Like we meant nothin' to each other. And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she grows up knowin' how much her momma and daddy loved her, and what good people they were, and how much she was wanted. And how much we wanted her, too. At least I hope we do."

"Are you through, Mr. Maverick?"

He closed his eyes and turned loose of her hand. "Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Ginny got up and took the coffee pot off the stove and poured them both more coffee. When she sat back down she stared into her cup, and after a few seconds began to speak.

"I went over to Donovan's house this morning. At least I tried to, but I couldn't bring myself to stay there, and I rode off. I went on down towards Asherville, all around the lake and the willow grove, and I finally decided I was more afraid of that little baby than I had been of Charlie Daggett. That's when I rode back to the Reverend's house, and I stopped this time.

"I sat and held that child, and tried to figure out just what it was that scared me so about her. Mrs. Donovan came out on the porch and sat with me, and we finally started talking; she's a real wise woman. Did you know her and the Reverend had nine children?"

Bret shook his head, and Ginny continued. "Neither did I. We talked a lot about babies and how scary they can be, especially when you don't have nine months to get used to the idea of having one. And then we talked about how normal they can be, how everything they do is just that . . . normal. She helped me understand things I never understood before. And she told me something I didn't want to hear but needed to . . . there's another family that wants her."

"No!" Bret jumped up and pounded his fist on the table. "No! I won't let them! No!"

She grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "Don't get yourself all worked up. I told her you and me needed to talk, to work things out, and that we'd be by in the morning . . . to pick up our daughter and bring her home."

It took him a minute to calm down enough to realize what Ginny had just told him. The man with the poker face, who never betrayed what his cards held, had gotten so emotional that he had to spend time just breathing to restore balance. "Did you just say . . . our daughter?"

Ginny gave a little chuckle as she teased him. "I'm glad your ears work. I did – I said our daughter."

Breton Joseph Maverick burst out laughing and found himself once again standing on his feet. This time he gathered his beloved red head, his very own Virginia Malone Maverick, into his arms and swung her around the room until both of them were dizzy. And when that happened they collapsed in a heap on the floor, and the laughter turned into happy tears. "I'm still scared," she told him, gasping to get her breath back.

"I'm not," he replied. "I'm terrified!"


	6. All Things Bright and Beautiful

Chapter 6 – All Things Bright and Beautiful

Neither one of the prospective parents slept that night. They were excited, scared, happier than they'd ever been, and frantic that they were bringing their daughter home to a house that wasn't ready for her. They had no crib, no place for the child to sleep, no linens or clothes or any of the other things that they needed to provide for Grace, but right now none of that mattered. What mattered most was that they were saving Grace from a life with people that didn't know her, and at the same time saving themselves from a marriage that had proven barren.

They lay in bed and talked, holding onto each other tightly until the day began to make itself known. The solution was simple and right before their very eyes. Bret got out of bed and got dressed, intent on hitching the horses to the wagon and going to the Manning house to bring back everything that even began to look like it should belong to a baby. "I'm going with you," Ginny announced when he came inside to get the keys that Lou had given him.

"Where are we gonna put her?" the new father asked.

Instinct took over. "In our room," the new mother replied. "What are we going to do about the ranch?"

"Already taken care of."

"What did you do?" Ginny asked.

"I'm havin' Pauly change Bart's and my room into a nursery."

"Pretty sure of yourself, weren't you?"

"Not at all. I was pretty sure of you."

They couldn't get the wagon loaded fast enough once they'd gotten to the Manning house. "What are these?" Ginny asked as she held up several pieces of clothing.

"Bonnets? Dresses? Pants and shirts? I have no idea."

"Maybe we can get Mrs. Donovan to come back to the house with us and tell us what everything is."

Bret nodded. "There's my Pinkerton detective. Always tryin' to find a solution."

By the time they'd unloaded everything at the house it was almost noon. "We're late."

"Are you afraid the Donovan's are gonna give her away?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. Didn't you say we'd be there in the morning?"

"Yes, Bret, but I said we'd be there."

"I'm just . . . "

"I know. Nervous."

"Well, yeah." He drove the wagon like a man possessed, and they soon found themselves parked in front of the Reverends.

"Do I look alright?" the impeccably groomed gambler asked.

"Perfect," his wife answered.

They clutched hands tightly as they made their way to the front door. Bret knocked, and it was barely a minute before the Reverend himself answered. "Mother! The new parents are here!" he called, then turned back to the Mavericks. "Come in, come in. My, don't the two of you look nice." He ushered them inside as Bret beamed. "Nervous?"

"Very," Ginny answered. Bret wasn't capable of speech at the moment, so he just nodded.

They heard footsteps, then Mrs. Donovan came into view, carrying a tiny bundle of pink something. Bret reached for the bundle but possession went to Ginny, and Verbena Donovan murmured, "That's it, just like you did yesterday."

Ginny held her new daughter tenderly; making sure Bret had a clear view of the child. Within five minutes she was in daddy's arms, and he was smiling broadly. "I have a request, Reverend."

"Go right ahead, Bret."

"I want to change Grace's name. Well, not change it so much as add something to it."

"And what would you like her new name to be?"

"Grace Louise Virginia Maverick."

Ginny gasped. "But that's not what her mother named her."

"You're her mother now, and I'm her father. And that's what I want her name to be."

XXXXXXXX

"And that's definitely not a bonnet." Mrs. Donovan had come back to the Maverick house with the new family, and she had just identified the last piece of clothing for them.

Ginny was laughing as Bret looked dismayed. "It's a what?"

"It's a diaper, Bret. A different kind of diaper, but still . . . "

"There's too much to remember," the big man remarked, and looked at his wife. "Glad I didn't think this was gonna be easy."

"Wait until Grace starts crying in the middle of the night and nothing you can do will make her stop."

"Will she do that often?" Ginny asked.

"Probably. But especially when you need the sleep."

Mrs. Maverick turned to Mr. Maverick. "The middle of the night. Sounds like just what you've been training for your whole life."

Bret shook his head. "How come Bart never told me about that?"

"Probably didn't want to scare you to death," Mrs. Donovan speculated.

"Too late."

Later that night, after Bret had driven Mrs. Donovan home and it was just the three of them in the house, the new parents sat in their favorite chairs in the front room of their house and watched 'their' baby girl sleep. "She does look like you," Ginny volunteered.

"Of course she does. I'm her father," he chuckled. After a minute he continued, "They did a good job, creatin' this little girl, didn't they? Lou and Kitty should be proud."

"I've no doubt that they are, Bret. Now it's up to us to help turn her into the young lady she was meant to be."

He reached across the empty space between the chairs and enveloped Ginny's hand with his own. "Thank you," he told her softly. "I love you, Ginny Malone."

"I love you too, Bret Maverick."

And the newest Maverick in the family gurgled, then smiled in her sleep.

TBC


	7. Epilogue

Epilogue

Three months later they felt like they'd been living in a whirlwind. Repair work on the ranch house in Little Bend was all but finished; the house in Claytonville was sold, and the move back to Bret's hometown completed. Every day with Grace brought something new and exciting into their lives, and they were so busy that little things seemed to slip on by unnoticed.

Grace's resemblance to her father grew with each passing day. They were a mutual admiration society. Everything she did amused him, and everything he did fascinated her. Ginny watched in awe as they grew ever closer, and thanked God every day for the miracle that was Grace.

Bret fell back into the day to day existence that was life in Little Bend, and it suited him. He still played poker on a regular basis, but he decided to give horse breeding a try. He'd always had an eye for good horseflesh, and when Bart agreed to go into business with his big brother, it began to look as if life couldn't get much better.

He'd even talked Ginny into letting Pauly Wilcox install a water pump in their kitchen, and she quickly became aware of the reasons Doralice seemed to love hers so.

Towards the end of summer Ginny's mood began to change, and Bret noticed it right away. She was tired all the time, and cranky, and Bret wondered just what he'd done wrong to aggravate his wife so. One afternoon she took the baby and the buggy into town to do some shopping, and she stopped at the Maverick house to visit for a while with Doralice. Breton had just turned seven months old, but it didn't take long for Ginny to pick up on all the signs – Bart and Doralice were going to have baby number five. "We're just like rabbits," her sister-in-law told her. "We can't keep our hands off each other."

"How can you find the time?" Ginny asked. "Every time we even look at each other that way, Grace starts wailing. We're lucky to get five minutes of peace with each other."

Doralice looked her sister-in-law over carefully. "I don't know, Ginny, you seem to be doing alright." The remark went right over Ginny's head, and she didn't understand just what it was she'd been accused of until she was ready to drive home. She made one more stop before leaving Little Bend proper and heading for the Maverick Ranch.

"Hey, how's my girls?" Bret called out from the corral when Ginny got home. He was working with a young stallion that he and Bart had purchased at auction, and things looked promising.

"They need some help," Ginny answered and hurried into the house. Quickly coming to his wife's aid, Bret unloaded the buggy and followed Ginny inside.

"How's Doralice and the boys?" Bart had gone to Claytonville to pick up two new mares.

"The boys are fine, and Doralice is . . . glowing."

"Glowing? As in . . . ?"

"As in baby number five. I asked her how they find the time and she just laughed."

Bret chuckled. "I always knew my brother would be outstandin' at somethin' besides poker. I'm happy for 'em."

"Bret . . . "

"Yes, Ginny? What is it?"

"Bart and Doralice aren't the only ones that are going to have another baby."

"Oh?" he asked casually. "Who else is . . . ?" He looked at the big smile slowly spreading across Ginny's face, and his mouth dropped open. "You're kidding! Are we . . . ? Are you . . . ? You mean Grace is gonna be a big sister?"

She nodded her head, and he dropped what was in his hands and picked her up, lifting her high in the air. When he finally put her back down on the ground he kissed her passionately, and right on cue Grace began to wail. Bret laughed like a crazy man and told his daughter, "Too late, Gracie. Momma and Daddy snuck one past you!"

Exactly six months to the day, Bartley Jerome Maverick was born. And what had started out as an attempt to save Grace turned into a rescue mission for the entire family.

The End


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